Is tonight the biggest night in Chicago sports (bar) history?

Justin Kaufmann

April 26, 2011

Bulls fans celebrate in 1991 AP/File

Could tonight be bigger than this night, back in 1991? Nice TV! (AP/File)

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I have a feeling tonight is going to be a good night (hit Black Eyed Peas bed music). I'm tailgating, starting now. CSN will be earning their local cable dollars and local bars will have the good fortune of back-to-back playoff games. If you own a bar, maybe you should change the genre just for tonight to be a 'Hawks/Bulls headquarters. Then you go back to being Reggae tomorrow. I'm looking your way, Exodus II.

I would like to make the argument that tonight should be the biggest (and longest) night in Chicago sports (bar) history. You would have to go back to 1991-'92 to get a crossover between the 'Hawks and Bulls. There are also some crossover games that included big regular season Bears games and baseball playoff games. Those are big days. But in terms of back-to-back night games (and throwing in two night baseball games - one at Wrigley and the other against the Yankees) you may have a case for tonight being special.

Now, Chicagoans, will tonight be as big as the end of May, 1992? The Bulls and Blackhawks both went to the finals that year. Here's the entry from Wikipedia:

But, according to my research, the 'Hawks and Bulls never overlapped in their finals appearances on the same night. The 'Hawks were swept out of the Stanley Cup Finals by June 1, 1992. The Bulls began their series with the Trailblazers on June 3, 1992. So there was definitely excitement, but no evidence of overlap. Now, they most certainly overlapped in their playoff run, but not elimination games.

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The downside to tonight's lineup is that it is only the first round of the playoffs. There is a Game 7, but the bigger picture is that these games are not for all the marbles.

Two wins tonight might force me to write this up all over again.

B story:Chip Mitchell has a nice story today on breastfeeding disparities in Chicago. According to a new study, African-American mothers have a much lower rate of breastfeeding. The story also cites federal officials talking about how important it is to breastfeed. What gets me about this debate is that we rarely ever hear from the pro-formula side. Is there such a thing? Are there reports coming out that say, "Nah, breastfeeding is cool but it doesn't hurt you if you don't do it. Formula has all the same nutrients." If so, they aren't getting the same press opportunities.

C story: Arcade Fire was here yesterday. I hope they played their hits! The live performance on Sound Ops should be out in the near future. Arcade Fire actually sang the 7th inning stretch in Chicago on Saturday. Salon wrote up the appearance and claimed that Cubs fans and Arcade Fire fans don't overlap. Obviously, she hasn't driven past the UIC Pavilion while fans lined up (plenty of Cubs overlap). Or go to Lollapalooza last year when they were the headliners. And the article also cites that the Cubs lost that game on Saturday. Duh, the Cubs came back in the 8th. Next time, file after the game ends.

D story: There was a Trib article this past Sunday about the groundbreaking new Second City revue. The article is all about how this new cast had heartbreak and disappointment during the writing of the show. That's why it's so dark and brilliant. Nina Metz (great writer, btw) wrote cast members faced hardships related to miscarriages, deaths (Sloane, Scruggs), illnesses and were bummed about the blizzard. Seriously? The line is "The show must go on, they told each other. And it did — until February's blizzard shut the theater down for two days, along with the cast's spirit."

C'mon, unless the cast was stuck on a bus on LSD for 12 hours without food and water, it is not considered a hardship or a morale killer that you couldn't go to work and improvise.

Weather: It's nice and warm today. Keep that sun out and we got ourselves a day!

Sports: And now, for your starting storylines!!!!

Derrick Rose was in a walking boot. Will he pull an MJ (I refuse to let Michael Jackson have MJ, btw) and hobble in and drop 50 points tonight?

Roberto Luongo will be in goal tonight for the Canucks. I predicted mind games when this series started, and I was right on. Will the all-star goalie step up and shut down the Hawks, or will he buckle under the pressure?

Kicker: I want to get a softball league together. Or at least join one. And since the only people that read this blog are other bloggers and editors, will someone let us in? We got a good team, we got a couple guys that will put on the real softball socks and gym shorts. And we have a couple lefties. Here, check this out - our wiffle ball matchup from a few years back.